Most of Natural Bridge was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2000. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1920.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Natural Bridge yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Natural Bridge is a town at the southwest edge of Winston County, Alabama, United States, located near the intersection of U.S. Route 278, Alabama Highway 13, and Alabama State Route 5. It initially incorporated on September 3, 1914. In the 1930s, due to a dwindling population, its charter became dormant. On July 24, 1997, it reincorporated. As of the 2020 census, Natural Bridge had a population of 32.
Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 37 to 32 (-14%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Natural Bridge. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1958Lynn sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Natural Bridge.
People over time
Natural Bridge, census by census
Between 28 and 335 people in every census since 1920.
5 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Natural Bridge’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Natural Bridge
Nobody well known was born in Natural Bridge itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2004
